Use crafts to teach children how to act respectfully. Help kids make a campaign poster championing a respectful attitude. Write the word "Respect" on the poster and include reasons someone would want to show respect to others. Use poster board for the poster and felt pens or crayons to decorate.
Another craft activity for the topic of respect is to make a collage of people showing respect. Give children a piece of card stock and have them draw pictures or cut and paste pictures from magazines that show people acting respectfully. Possible pictures include people shaking hands, someone holding a door for another or a soldier in the military saluting.
Showing kids how to act respectfully in various situations will help them when they encounter the situation in real life. Help children learn to address adults as Mr., Mrs., Miss or Ms. by letting them practice on each other and familiar adults. Ask children to practice other respectful situations such as opening doors for each other.
Use games to provoke a lively and candid discussion on respect. Write questions about respect on slips of paper and put them in a container. Let each player pull a paper out and answer the question. The leader and the other players can determine if the answer is correct. Some possible questions include, "What are three ways you can show respect to parents?" and "Can you give three reasons why showing respect is important?" Players get a point for every right answer.
Play a game of charades where players act out respectful gestures such as shaking hands, opening a door or pulling out a chair.
Consider making a respect journal. Have students decorate the cover with stickers or drawings. Ask students to keep a record of all respectful acts they witness every day for a week. They should even keep track of their own acts of respect.
Watch a popular television show, and then discuss ways that the characters did or did not show respect for others.